Reversible latch bolt unit



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C 1952 E. L. SCHLAGE REVERSIBLE LATCH BOLT UNIT Filed July 12, 1949 &CT. .M. 3H m \5 m m mum...

Oct; 1952 E. L. SCHLAGE REVERSIBLE LATCH BOLT UNIT 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2Filed July 12, 1949 \llll INVENTOR. W i. 3211b;

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Patented Oct. 7, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REVERSIBLE LATCH BOLTUNIT Ernest Schlage, Burlingame, Calif.

Application July 12, 1949, Serial No. 104,178

especially to a reversible dead latching mechanism therefore.

The object of the present invention is generally to improve and simplifythe construction and operation of dead latching machanisms, andespecially to provide a latching mechanism including amainlatch bolt anda cooperating dead bolt which are reversible as a unit prior toinstallation to permit either a right or left-hand positioning of thelatching mechanism when installed in doors. p l r The invention is shownby way of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1. is a perspective view of the latch bolt unit of the lock.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the latch bolt actuating unit. r

Fig. 3 is a vertical side view partially in section, said view beingtakenon lines III--III of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal view partially in section taken on line IV--IV ofFig. 3;

Fig. 5'is an enlarged perspective view of the crank.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the crank'hub before it isapplied to the crank.

Fig. 7 is a vertical side view partially insection, saidview showing thelatch boltunit in a position reversed with relation to that shown in bdead bolt.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the dogging members. i

Fig. 14 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the spring seats, andr l Fig. 15 is a perspective view of one of the plate sections formingthe anchor.

A door latch actuating unit A is inserted in a hole 2 drilledtransversely through a door (land a latch bolt unit B is inserted in ahole3 drilled at right angles to the hole 2 or from the edge of thedoor. The unit A actuates a flat spindle bar 13 Claims- (erase-244) 4which in turn actuates a latch bolt l6 carried by the unit B. The bar 4may be rotated by a key 5 from one side of the door C or by a knob or.turnpiece 6 from the other side of the door. The unit A is alsoprovided with a pair of anchor posts 'l--!, a pair of escutoheon plates9 and 10, and1a pair of screws 8--B insertable in the posts l'! whichare internally threaded.

The latch bolt unit B comprises a face plate I l and a circularcylindrical latch bolt housing [3, and these carry a latch bolt IS, adeadlatching bolt or dead bolt H, a latch bolt retracting mechanism anda dogging mechanism actuated by the dead bolt IT. The faceplate iscomposed of an outer sheet II and an inner sheet l2 riveted together orotherwise secured. The face plate carries a circular cylindrical latchbolt housing l3 ope at its outer end and havin a closed inner end [4.The open end is provided with an outwardly extending annular flange I5received,

between the face plate sheets II and 12, and when these are rivetedtogether, the latch bolt housing becomes rigidly secured to the faceplate.

Extending through the openend of the latch bolt housing and throughtheface plate are a latch bolt I6 and a dead locking bolt ll. Suitablysecuredto the latch bolt I6 and extending rearwardly therefrom is a bar[8 composed of two plates (see Figure 10). Both plates are cut away toform shoulders |9I9 and one plate carries a guide lug 20. Also carriedby the bar I8 is a pin 2| which connects with one endof the re-'tractor. 22, the opposite end of the retractor being connected with acrank 23.

The dead bolt ll (see Fig. 12) is substantially cylindrical throughoutits length. However, the outer end has a fiat 24 on oneside to form ashoulder 25 and also to engage the fiat ,face 16a of the latch bolt 16.An annular groove 26 is formed behind the shoulder 2-5. The inner end ofthe dead bolt is tubular to telescope over a guide pin 21 secured to theinner, closed end [4 of thelatch bolt housing. A similar pin 21a is alsoprovided and a tubular member 28 is secured to the latch bolt It so asto telescope over the pin. A compression spring 29 surrounds each pin.The springs engage shoulders formed respectively on the tubular member28 and on the dead bolt. These springs normally function to maintain thelatch bolt and the dead bolt in an extended position, and also actuate apair of dogging members, one of which is shown in Figure 13. Eachdogging member is provided with a pair of rocker arms 30 which areconnected with or formed as an integral part of a dogging arm 3|. Therocker arms are disposed on an angle of less than 90 degrees withrelation to the dogging arm, so as to form a rocker-like support 32 foreach dogging arm.

A spring seating plate, as shown in Figure 14, is on each of the guidepins 21 and 21a. The springs 29 seat on the respective plates and as'the plates engage or rest on the rocker arms 30,

a force is exerted which tends to maintain the offset tips 3 la of thedogging arms 3| in engagement with the shoulders |9|9 formed on the barI8.

A slide 33 (see Figure 11) has two cams 34 formed thereon to engage thedogging arms 3| and normally maintains the doggin arms out of engagementwith the shoulders |9-|9, as shown in Figure 7. The slide 33 is movablealongside the bar l8 and is actuated by the dead locking bolt H. Theslide and its earns 34 may be moved to a position rearwardly of the tips3Ia formed on the dogging arms. When this position is assumed, thedogging arms swing toward the bar I8 and engage the shoulders |9|9thereby deadlocking the latch bolt I3. The slide 33 has a longitudinalslot 35 to receive the guide lug 29 formed on the bar I8. Also, a pairof lugs 36 are formed on the slide 33 and extend into the annular groove26 formed on the dead bolt. Thus, when the dead bolt is depressed, theslide 33 moves inwardly i unison therewith and the 33 moves outwardlywith it and the cams 34,

engage and lift the doggin arms 3| out of engagement with the shoulders|9|9.

In actual operation, whe a door containing the lock here shown isclosed, the latch bolt I6 will be depressed when it engages the strikerplate (not shown) which is mounted in the door frame; The bolt I! willalso be depressed in unison with the latch bolt because the latch boltengages the shoulder 25 formed on the dead bolt. The dead bolt willremain depressed when the door is fully closed while the latch bolt-will only be momentarily depressed as an opening is formed in thestriker plate into which the latch bolt is automatically projected byits spring 29. As the dead bolt remains depressed, the slide 33 with itscam 34 remains in its inner position and the dogging arms thereforeengage the shoulders |9|9 and maintain the latch bolt in a dead lockedposition.

The door may be opened either by the key or the knob or turn piece 6. Ineither instance, the spindle bar 4 is rotated and the crank arm 23swings rearwardly, thus pulling the retractor 22 in the same direction.The forward end of the retractor has a longitudinal slot 59 to permit itto be moved a predetermined distance before engaging the pin 2| on thebar 8. A pair of cams 31 are formed on the retractor 22 on oppositesides of the slot 59. These cams engage the tips 3|a of the dogging arms3| during the predetermined movement and lift the dogging arms out ofengagement with the shoulders I 9-| 9 just before the pin 2| is engaged,thereby permitting full retraction of the latch bolt by the key or theturn piece.

One of the important features of the present invention is that the latchbolt unit B may be reversed to fit either a right or left-hand door. Thelatch bolt unit B as a whole is positioned to fit either a right orleft-hand door, this being accomplished prior to installation by merelyrotating the unit as a whole about its longitudinal axis degrees so asto make the flat face I611 of the latch bolt face toward one side or theother depending upon whether a right or lefthand (1001' is to be fitted.In view of the fact that the actuating unit A is not reversible,provision is made to permit changing of the position of the crank 23. Ifthe latch bolt unit is inserted in a right-hand door in the positionshown in Figure 3, the flat face of the latch bolt faces away and thehub end of the crank is in a position near the bottom of the hole 2.Now, if the latch bolt unit is removed and rotated about itslongitudinal axis 180 degrees, as shown in Figure '7, then the hub ofthe crank is in a position near the top of the hole 2. But the spindlebar 4 is not reversible, and always is in a fixed position near thebottom of the hole 2. Consequently, the hub end of the crank is swungtoward the lower part of the hole 2 for eithera right or left-hand doorinstallation.

The structure that permits this comprises an anchor 39 in which isformed a arcuate slot 38 and two pairs of openings 40 and 4| to receivethe anchor posts l-l. The anchor may be made of a single plate but, inthis instance, is madeof two plates with a lug 42 on the end of each(see Figure 15). A slot is formed in the inner end 4 of the latch bolthousing. The anchor projects through this slot and so does theretractor- 22, while the lugs 42 are fastened to the inner end I4 byriveted extensions 5| formed on the guide pins 21, thus reenforcing theinner end of the latch bolt housing and at the same time rigidlysecuring the anchor.

A bushing 44 (see Figure 6) extends through the crank 23 forming a huband also extends freely through the arcuate slot 38 to permit the hub tobe swungfrom one end of the slot to the other. The crank is punched outand has four notches 45 formed therein. The bushing is provided withprongs 46 and 41 at opposite ends. The prongs 41 are bent at rightangles to engage one face of the anchor while the prongs 46 are bentinto the notches 45 and against the crank so as to secure the bushin tothe crank and against endwise removal from the anchor. The notches 45are considerably deeper than the thickness of the metal forming theprongs, so that after they have been bent into place, enough space stillremains to form splines to receive the spindle bar 4. The notches aredisposed in pairs diametrically opposite each other, so that one pairreceives the spindle bar in one position of the crank and the other pairreceives the spindle bar in its other position. In changing the latchbolt unit from a right to a left-hand position or vice versa, the hubend of the crank is swung to the lower end of the arcuate slot 38, theslot 59 in the front end of the retractor being sufficiently long toprovide the play required. Figure 9 shows the crank arm as it is beingswung from one position in the arcuate slot into the other. The slot 50in the front end of the retractor permits two functions, first, that ofallowing a predetermined preliminary movement of the crank and retractorwhen opening a door, so that the dogging arms 3| may be released beforethe latch bolt I6 is retracted and second, that Of p v di -t e p y orfree movement re.- quired to swing the hub end of the crank from one endof the arcuate slot 38 to the other."

The anchor posts are positioned slightly below the center of theactuating unit A. Due

to this fact two setsor pairs of openings 4|! and 4t areformed in theanchor. The posts'project throughone pair of openings whenaright-handdoor is fitted and through the other pairof openings when the latch boltunit is placed in a lefthand doorfi; if theanchor posts are placed onthe center line ofthe actuating unitfonly "one pair of openings will berequired. g

@While the invention has been described asapplied to a dead lockinglatch bolt unit, I also contemplate making units of this character whichdo not require dead locking, that is, the dead locking bolt and thedogging mechanism actuated thereby is eliminated; the invention beingapplicable to a-latchbolt unit of this characross said axis, a crank, ahub engagin thecrank and projecting through the slot and movable thereinfrom one side of the axis to the other, and a retractor connecting thecrank with the latch bolt.

2. A door lock with a reversible latch bolt unit comprising a housinghaving a longitudinal axis, a latch bolt projecting from said housing,an anchor secured to the housing, there being a slot formed in saidanchor extending transversely across said axis, a crank, a hub engagingthe crank and projecting through the slot and movable therein from oneside of the axis to the other, a retractor connecting the crank with thelatch bolt, and a spindle engaging said hub to impart movement to saidcrank.

3. A door lock with a reversible latch bolt unit comprising a housinghaving a longitudinal axis, a latch bolt projecting from said housing,an anchor secured to the end of the housing, there being an arcuate slotformed in said anchor extending transversely across said axis, a crank,a hub engaging the crank and projecting through theslot and movabletherein from one side of the axis to the other, a retractor connectingthe crank with the latch bolt, and a spindle member projecting throughthe hub to impart movement thereto.

4. A door lock with a reversible latch bolt unit comprising a housinghaving a longitudinal axis, a latch bolt projecting from said housing, adead bolt also projecting from said housing, dogging arms actuated bythe dead bolt for dogging said latch bolt against depression, an anchorsecured to the end of the housing, there being an arcuate slot formed insaid anchor extending transversely across said axis, a crank, a hubengaging the crank and projecting through the slot and movable in saidslot from one side of the axis to the other, a retractor connecting thecrank with the latch bolt, said crank and said retractor moving acrosssaid axis with said hub, and cams on said retractor for engaging saiddogging arms in either position of said retractor with respect to saidaxis.

5. A door lock with a reversible latch bolt unit comprising a housinghaving a longitudinal axis,

a face plate secured at the outer end of said housing, a latch boltprojecting"iromsaidhousing through the face plate,-a dead bolt also"projecting through the fac'e plate, dogging arms actuated" bythe deadbolt for dogging the latch bolt against depression, ananchor secured tothe end of the housing, there being a arcuate slot formed in said anchorextending transversely acrosssaid axis, a crank, a hub; engaging thecrank and projecting through the slot and movable in said-slot from oneside of the axis to the other, a retractor connected at one' endwith thecrank, means at the other endotthe retractor for retracting the latchbolt,said crank and said retractor moving across said axis with said huband means on the retractorfor' releas ing the dogging arms in eitherposition of said retractor with respect to said axis. U6.' "Areversiblelatch bolt unit comprising "a elongated housing having alongitudinal axis, a latchboltprojecting from one end of said housing,an anohor'secured tothe other end of the hous ingysaid anchor having anelongated slot therein extending transversely across said axis, acrankia hub for said crank disposed i said slot, said hub being movable insaid slot between two extreme positions at opposite ends of said slot,and a retractor connecting the crank with the latch bolt in allpositions of said hub.

'7. A door lock with a reversible latch bolt unit comprising anelongated housing having a longitudinal axis, a latch bolt projectingfrom one end of said housing, an anchor secured to the other end of saidhousing, said anchor having an elongated slot therein extending acrosssaid axis, a crank, a hub for said crank disposed in said slot, said hubbeing movable in said slot between two extreme positions at oppositeends of said slot, a retractor connecting said crank with the latchbolt, and a spindle projecting through said hub and said crank to impartmovement thereto.

8. A door lock with a reversible latch bolt unit comprising an elongatedhousing having a longitudinal axis, a latch bolt projecting from one endof said housing, an anchor secured to the other end of the housing, saidanchor having an elongated slot therein extending across said axis, acrank, a hub for said crank disposed in said slot, said hub beingmovable in said slot between two extreme positions at opposite ends ofthe slot, a retractor connected to said crank, a slotted connectionbetween said retractor and said latch bolt, and a spindle projectingthrough said hub and said crank to impart movement thereto.

9. A door lock with a reversible latch bolt unit comprising a housing, alatch bolt slidable within said housing, a pin on said latch bolt andmovable along a line, an actuating spindle disposable in either of twopositions on opposite sides: of said line, a crank connected to saidspindle and extending across said line when said spindle is in eitherone of said positions, and a retractor at one end connected to said pinand at the other end connected to said crank on the opposite side ofsaid line from said spindle.

10. A door lock with a reversible latch bolt unit comprising a housing,a latch bolt slidable within said housing alon a longitudinal axis, acrank rotatable with respect to said housing about either one of twotransverse axes on opposite sides of said longitudinal axis, a retractorpivotally I connected to said crank, and a longitudinal lostmotionconnection betwee said retractor and said latch bolt.

11. A door lock with a reversible latch bolt unit comprising a housing,a latch bolt slidable within said housing along a longitudinal axis, acrank rotatable with respect to said housing about either one of twoaxesextendin ina transverse direction and disposed on opposite sides of saidlongitudinal axis, said crank being shiftable across said longitudinalaxis between said two axes, a retractor, and connections betweensaid'retractor and said crank and between said retractor. and said latchbolt, one of said connections being a lost-motion connectionaffordingrotation of said crank toward said latch bolt as said crank isshifted across said longitudinal axis while said latch bolt isstationary.

12; A door lock with a reversible latch bolt unit comprising a circularcylindrical housing having a longitudinal axis, an anchor extending fromsaid housing along said axis, said anchor having a slot thereinextending acrosssaid axis, a hub movable in said slot across said axis,means for holding said hub on either side of said axis, a latch boltslidable within said housing, and operating connections between said huband said latch bolt.

13. A door lock with a reversible latch bolt unit comprising a circularcylindrical housing having a longitudinal axis; an anchor extending fromsaid housing alon said axis, said anchor having a slot therein extendingacross said axis; a latch bolt slidable within said housing; a retractorconnected to said latch bolt; a crank connected to said retractor; and ahub on said crank movable in said slot across said axis while saidcrank, said retractor and said latch bolt are connected.

ERNEST L. SCHLAGEA REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent: I

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date, 1,739,654 Schlage Dec. 17, 19291,876,080 Schlage Sept. 6, 1932 1,876,081 Schlage Sept.6, 1932 2,307,038Gutman Jan. 5, 1943 Heyer Aug. 1, 1950

